Chamberlain University Online: Cost and Outcomes (2026)
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- Chamberlain is a for-profit nursing university owned by Covista
- Chamberlain tuition is $635 a credit for the RN-to-BSN and $750 to $760 for the MSN
- The RN-to-BSN is 45 credits after Chamberlain’s 77 proficiency credits
- The prelicensure BSN has an online option, but clinicals are in person
- Pell can help with an RN-to-BSN; an MSN is paid with loans
- 74% of Chamberlain undergraduates earn an award within eight years
- Where you live decides which Chamberlain programs you can take online
- Nursing bachelor’s degrees lead Chamberlain’s awards, 7,843 in 2023-24
- Frequently asked questions
- Who Chamberlain fits, and the watch-outs
- Check your own aid before you apply to Chamberlain
Chamberlain University’s online RN-to-BSN costs $635 a credit hour in 2026, and its MSN, Master of Science in Nursing. A graduate nursing degree, the usual route to advanced roles such as nurse practitioner. $750 to $760. Of undergraduates who started in 2017-18, 74% earned a Chamberlain award within eight years, according to College Scorecard’s October 2026 data.
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Check your aid before you choose Chamberlain
About two minutes, shown before any email, with the rules for the year you start (2026-27 or 2027-28). No bachelor's yet: Pell and state grants. Have a BSN: no Pell, and the standard graduate loan limit. Chamberlain's financial aid office sets your actual offer.
Check my aidAn RN, Registered nurse. A nurse licensed by a state board after passing the NCLEX-RN exam. without a bachelor’s is an undergraduate here and can still get Pell. A nurse with a BSN, Bachelor of Science in Nursing. A bachelor’s degree in nursing. Registered nurses can earn it in an RN-to-BSN program. is a graduate student: Pell is out, and federal loans for an MSN or DNP are Direct Unsubsidized Loans. The MSN is 33 to 36 credits, by Chamberlain’s MSN page.
If it is your own money this time, the numbers to check are how many credits you still owe and how many students finish. Scorecard’s $38,263 average net price for 2024-25 covers only 30 full-time, first-time undergraduates who got federal aid and counts living costs, so it does not describe a working nurse finishing a BSN online.
How many terms until you finish?
Tell us what you're working toward and the credits you have. You'll see an estimate right here, nothing to sign up for.
Chamberlain is a for-profit nursing university owned by Covista
Chamberlain is a private for-profit university based in Addison, IL. It was founded in 1889 as Deaconess College of Nursing and has been owned since 2005 by Covista, the company named Adtalem Global Education until February 5, 2026. Covista also owns Walden University.
| Fact | Chamberlain |
|---|---|
| Control | Private for-profit |
| Owner | Covista (formerly Adtalem Global Education) |
| Institutional accreditor | Higher Learning Commission (HLC) |
| Nursing accreditor | CCNE, for the BSN, MSN, DNP and post-graduate APRN certificate programs |
| Undergraduates studying fully online (fall 2024) | 82% |
| Graduate students studying fully online (fall 2024) | 100% |
| Degree-seeking undergraduates (fall 2024) | 14,027 |
| Graduate students (fall 2024) | 18,903 |
| Undergraduates 25 or older (fall 2023) | 85% |
| Undergraduates studying part-time (fall 2024) | 68% |
| Revenue from federal education assistance funds, the 90/10 rate (fiscal 2025, Covista 10-K) | 70% |
| Federal school ID (UNITID) | 454227 |
CCNE is the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education; APRN means advanced practice registered nurse. The MPH is accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health and the MSW by the Council on Social Work Education, according to Covista’s 2026 annual report. College Scorecard reports Chamberlain as Chamberlain University-Illinois (UNITID 454227).
Chamberlain tuition is $635 a credit for the RN-to-BSN and $750 to $760 for the MSN
Chamberlain prices every program per credit hour. These are the rates on its tuition page in October 2026 for the two programs a working nurse is choosing between, each with the date the school gives.
| Program | Per credit hour | Effective |
|---|---|---|
| RN to BSN (online) | $635 | July 2025 and July 2026 tables |
| MSN, non-nurse-practitioner courses | $750 | January 2026 |
| MSN, nurse practitioner courses | $760 | January 2026 |
Before any grant, Chamberlain’s published RN-to-BSN tuition runs from $19,050 (30 credits, with the most transfer credits) to $28,575 (45 credits, with none). Those are its own July 2026 cost tables.
Other programs, same page: MPH $610 and MSW $715 a credit (January 2026); campus BSN $735 to $775, BSN Online Option $780 and DNP $830 (September 2026).
Fees come on top. The RN-to-BSN and MSN add a $200 student services charge each session and a course resource fee ($100 a course for the RN-to-BSN, $75 for the MSN). Nurse practitioner courses add a $450 APRN fee each.
Chamberlain lists lower rates for some students: $200 to $280 a credit for military students in the RN-to-BSN, $507 for its alumni, and $600 to $608 for military students and alumni in the MSN.
Before you sign, ask for your enrollment agreement and a written total for your MSN track: credits, tuition and every fee.
The RN-to-BSN is 45 credits after Chamberlain’s 77 proficiency credits
The BSN is 122 credit hours. An RN with an associate degree or nursing diploma and an active, unrestricted license is awarded 77 proficiency credits, which leaves 45. At least 30 must be taken at Chamberlain (37 in Virginia), so up to 15 more can transfer in.
That grant is Chamberlain’s own discount, not federal aid. The school says it is “available to new and readmit students only and subject to change at any time.” Its “as few as 10 months” assumes full-time study and the full 15 transfer credits.
Coursework is online, with a practicum in a community health setting (12 hours over three days on site). Chamberlain’s page says: “If you can’t find a site for your practicum, our Practicum Commitment means that we will support you in finding a site and preceptor.” To see how this program compares with RN-to-BSN programs at other schools, read our comparison of online RN-to-BSN and MSN programs.
The prelicensure BSN has an online option, but clinicals are in person
If you are not yet an RN, the BSN is 122 credits, with up to 52 transfer credits. Chamberlain offers it on campus and as a BSN Online Option, and says you can finish in as few as three years.
The online option still has 650 to 750 clinical hours in ten in-person rotations. It adds mandatory skills immersions with travel and a simulation visit in Chicago.
You must live in a state Chamberlain permits for the online option, and it says clinical site location “is not guaranteed and may require travel.”
Pell can help with an RN-to-BSN; an MSN is paid with loans
For 2026-27, Pell pays up to $7,395 a year, usually only to undergraduates who have not earned a bachelor’s degree. An RN finishing a first bachelor’s can qualify. The amount depends on your financial need, your cost of attendance and whether you study full-time or part-time.
Once you hold a BSN, Pell is out, and federal loans for an MSN or DNP are Direct Unsubsidized Loans. Grad PLUS is no longer available to new graduate borrowers from July 1, 2026, and these limits apply:
| Your program | Federal loan rule |
|---|---|
| MSN or DNP | Up to $50,000 a year for now, because court orders have the Department treating them as professional degrees. FSA says further adjustments may follow once the litigation concludes. |
| Other graduate students | Up to $20,500 a year in Direct Unsubsidized Loans, StudentAid.gov's annual limit for graduate students. |
| Studying part-time | The yearly limit is cut in proportion to your course load. 90% of Chamberlain's graduate students were part-time in fall 2024. |
Our guide to nursing master’s loan limits explains the court order and how to plan if the limit drops. Chamberlain’s financial aid office sets your actual aid and can tell you which limit your program gets.
74% of Chamberlain undergraduates earn an award within eight years
| Measure | Chamberlain |
|---|---|
| Undergraduates who earned an award within 8 years (started in 2017-18) | 74% |
| Graduated within 6 years (first-time, full-time undergraduates, fall 2019 cohort) | 35% |
| Median earnings 6 years after starting, school-wide, all levels (started 2015-16 and 2016-17) | $92,614 |
| Median earnings 10 years after starting, school-wide, all levels (started 2011-12 and 2012-13) | $96,897 |
| Graduates' median earnings 4 years after finishing, school-wide, all levels (finished 2017-18 and 2018-19) | $97,262 |
| Graduates' median federal loan debt, school-wide (entered repayment in fiscal 2024 and 2025) | $19,746 |
| Undergraduates with a Pell Grant (2024-25) | 43% |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan (2024-25) | 63% |
The 8-year rate counts degree-seeking undergraduates who started in 2017-18, part-time and transfer-in students included. The 6-year rate counts only students starting college for the first time, full-time, which leaves out RNs coming back for a BSN. Neither Scorecard nor College Navigator publishes a completion rate for Chamberlain’s graduate students.
College Navigator splits an earlier group, students who entered in 2016-17. Of those who had attended college before and studied full-time, 86% earned a bachelor’s within eight years; part-time, 71%. Of first-time, full-time students, 43% did.
Where you live decides which Chamberlain programs you can take online
Chamberlain’s distance education page lists the online programs open to residents of each state, and the lists differ. Arizona’s list, for example, has no BSN Online Option. Check your state before you apply.
New York’s education department said on December 11, 2024 that Chamberlain “may not enroll new students that are based in New York State” in online programs. Students enrolled online before December 5, 2024 may finish. Chamberlain’s state list, read on October 25, 2026, has no New York entry.
NYSED gives the reason: a school below 1.0 on the federal financial responsibility score cannot take part in SARA, the agreement states use for online programs across state lines. Chamberlain’s score is its parent company’s.
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Federal score notice
The Department of Education told Chamberlain’s parent, then Adtalem, that its fiscal 2022 score was 0.2.
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SARA term ends
Chamberlain’s SARA participation expired; it did not seek renewal.
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New York notice
NYSED said Chamberlain may not enroll new New York-based students online.
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Federal aid recertified, provisionally
The Department provisionally recertified Chamberlain’s federal aid agreement through December 31, 2028.
Covista’s annual report says students at a provisionally certified school “remain eligible to receive Title IV, Title IV of the Higher Education Act. The part of federal law that covers federal student aid. A Title IV school is one approved to pay out federal grants and loans. program funds.” Title IV is federal student aid, such as Pell Grants and Direct Loans.
Nursing bachelor’s degrees lead Chamberlain’s awards, 7,843 in 2023-24
These are Chamberlain’s largest fields by awards in 2023-24, from Scorecard’s field-of-study file.
| Field and credential | Awards, 2023-24 | Median earnings, 4 yrs after | Median federal debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nursing (bachelor's) | 7,843 | $96,132 | $21,656 |
| Nursing (master's) | 4,616 | $118,689 | $44,166 |
| Nursing (first professional degree) | 588 | Not published | Not published |
| Nursing (graduate certificate) | 320 | $101,849 | $45,069 |
| Public Health (master's) | 111 | Not published | $30,158 |
| Social Work (master's) | 86 | Not published | $42,125 |
“Nursing” is Scorecard’s Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. Earnings cover graduates who finished in 2017-18 and 2018-19, in 2024 dollars; debt covers graduates who finished in 2022-23 and 2023-24. Scorecard reports one nursing bachelor’s row for this ID and does not split prelicensure from RN-to-BSN graduates.
If you are weighing a move into management instead of more nursing study, our guide to an online healthcare administration degree covers that route’s cost and pay.
Frequently asked questions
Is Chamberlain University accredited?
Yes. The Higher Learning Commission accredits the university, according to College Scorecard and Covista’s 2026 annual report. CCNE accredits its BSN, MSN, DNP and post-graduate APRN certificate programs, CEPH its MPH and CSWE its MSW.
Who Chamberlain fits, and the watch-outs
It fits if
- You are an RN finishing a BSN. 77 proficiency credits leave 45 credits at $635 each (2026 rate), online with one short practicum.
- You want a nursing master’s online. College Navigator reports 100% of the 18,903 graduate students as fully online in fall 2024. Nursing master’s graduates who finished in 2017-18 and 2018-19 had median earnings of $118,689 four years later.
- You are an adult learner. 85% of undergraduates were 25 or older in fall 2023.
Watch-outs
- Your state may limit your options. On December 11, 2024, New York’s education department said Chamberlain may not enroll new New York-based students online; Chamberlain’s state list, read October 25, 2026, has no New York entry. Other states’ lists differ.
- Graduate degrees carry more debt. Nursing master’s graduates of 2022-23 and 2023-24 had median federal debt of $44,166. Scorecard’s separate school-wide figure, for graduates entering repayment in fiscal 2024 and 2025, is $19,746.
- The headline discount can change. The 35% Pathway to Success Grant is for new and readmit students and Chamberlain says it may change at any time.
Check your own aid before you apply to Chamberlain
Chamberlain’s averages describe other students. The aid check applies the federal rules for the year you start (2026-27 or 2027-28) to your income and family, takes about two minutes, and shows the result before any email or school contact. If you already hold a bachelor’s degree, it shows your graduate loan limit and no Pell.
To compare on the same measures, see Walden University, also owned by Covista, or Western Governors University. Of undergraduates who started in 2017-18, 35% at Walden and 55% at WGU earned an award within eight years; graduates’ median federal debt (repayment in fiscal 2024 and 2025) was $20,834 and $12,500, from College Scorecard’s October 2026 data.
Degree Sources may refer readers to schools through partners. School matching is optional and comes after you see your aid result. The figures here come from federal data, Chamberlain’s own pages, New York’s education department and Covista’s annual report, and this profile does not rank schools.
See your aid before you apply to Chamberlain
About two minutes, with the federal rules for the year you start. Your result shows before any email; school matching is optional and is not an application to any school.
Check my aidWant your finish-line plan by email? Go to the quick check
Sources
Every figure in this guide comes from one of these pages. How we check sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard: Chamberlain University-Illinois (UNITID 454227)
- College Scorecard data files, October 15, 2026 release
- College Scorecard data dictionary, October 15, 2026 release (cohort years)
- NCES College Navigator: Chamberlain University-Illinois (enrollment and distance education, fall 2024; age, fall 2023; outcome measures for 2016-17 entrants)
- Chamberlain University, Tuition and Expenses (rates effective July 2025 to September 2026)
- Chamberlain University, Online RN to BSN (credits, proficiency credits, practicum)
- Chamberlain University, BSN Online Option (in-person clinicals, permitted states)
- Chamberlain University, Online MSN (credits, clinical hours, specializations)
- Chamberlain University, Distance Education: program approvals by state
- Chamberlain University, Accreditation
- New York State Education Department: Chamberlain University No Longer Eligible to Offer Distance Education in New York State (December 11, 2024)
- Covista Inc., Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2026 (filed August 6, 2026)
- Covista (formerly Adtalem Global Education): Adtalem Global Education Becomes Covista (February 5, 2026)
- Covista: our institutions
- Federal Student Aid, 2026-27 Federal Pell Grant maximum and minimum award amounts
- StudentAid.gov, Federal Pell Grants (who qualifies and what the amount depends on)
- StudentAid.gov, Interest rates and fees for federal student loans (graduate annual limit)
- StudentAid.gov, One Big Beautiful Bill Act: Important Definitions (Grad PLUS, loan limits)
- Federal Student Aid, GENERAL-26-42: professional degree programs under the court order (updated Oct. 23, 2026)
Related Resources
Walden University Online: Cost and Outcomes (2026)
Walden charges $360 a quarter credit for most bachelor's courses and $715 for the DBA (2026). 35% of undergrads finish in 8 years. DBA settlement, explained.
Best Online Nursing Programs 2026: RN-to-BSN and MSN
Six accredited online RN-to-BSN and MSN programs, from WGU to Duke, compared on Scorecard outcomes. RNs earned a $97,550 median in May 2025 (BLS).
Nursing master's loan limits in 2026: MSN and DNP
Since a June 24, 2026 court order, MSN and DNP programs get professional-degree loan limits: $50,000 a year, not $20,500. Why it may change, and how to plan.